This video speaks to the very money issues that are being debated today and will be decided tomorrow. It serves us well to go back to the future, as it were, and remember what these elected officials all said in September of 2007. Each person must draw their own conclusions. Little did I know how very right Mrs. Caddigan and Mr. Jenkins were.

35 Thoughts to “Back to the Future with Supervisors Jenkins and Caddigan 9/07”

  1. BVBL Reports

    Dear PWEA member:

    Chairman Corey Stewart, of the Board of County Supervisors has sent out a request for citizens to contact their board representative in favor of the 1.198 tax rate. We must contact them to let them know we need a tax rate that will support education. One more penny would add $2.2 million dollars to our education budget! Please contact your representative before next Tuesday to ask for a higher advertised rate. If at all possible, join me on Tuesday, March 3, 2009, at 2:00 p.m., at the McCoart Government Building to stand with me as I stand up for you. It would also be good if you could come to the 7:30 meeting. Depending on when they vote, we need to keep reminding them to support our students, our education employees, and quality education. Thank you, thank you! [email protected]

    Bonnie Klakowicz
    PWEA President
    8510 Bucyrus Court
    Manassas, VA 20110
    phone: 703-361-2444 fax:703-361-2178
    e-mail: [email protected]
    website: http://www.pweaveanea.org

    “You, me, and millions of others who work in education are blessed and commissioned with the honor of making a difference in our country by teaching a child.”

    Laura Vernon, NEA 2008 ESP of the Year

  2. Moon-howler

    Obviously the Education Association thinks that the tax rate needs to be advertised higher. The school system should be getting some educational funding from the state via the Stimulus package. It makes sense to have some wiggle room there also.

    Let me guess, BVBL Reports, the dark screen hardily approved of Ms. Klakowicz’s plea?

  3. Second-Alamo

    The thing that amazes me most is that people are holding our representatives completely accountable while the illegal immigrants who created this entire problem are held in high esteem. The Brookings report stated that PWC had the highest rate of increase in the number of immigrants in the nation. My guess is most of them being illegal. Police forces and prisons cost a tremendous amount of tax payer money, yet no one proposes we abolish either. The Resolution is an act of law enforcement as is spending countless man hours catching speeders or other forms of moving violations. How much does the enforcement of our traffic laws cost PWC in comparison?

  4. Chris

    I wish everyone would remember we are talking about an ADVERTISED tax rate, and not a set tax rate. Once the tax rate is advertised it can’t go any higher. However, they can ALWAYS set the tax rate lower than the advertised rate.

    How can the county set a realistic advertised tax rate when they don’t yet know what our assesments will be? For those of us living in older, established neighborhoods our assessments are sure to plummet once again this year. No one in my neighborhood could have sold their home for their 2008 Real Estate Tax Assessment. The assessments were simply higher than the fair market value.(traditionally in PWC assessments are lower than the fair market value.)

    Are we facing yet another year of over-assesments? I hope not, but we’ll see.

    SA,and I liked to know how much money is wasted on processing FOIA requests, especially the ones going to the PWPD. Chief Deane addressed this issue at a BOS meeting.

  5. Moon-howler

    SA, I don’t think anyone is holding illegal immigrants in high esteem. As I have often said, my objection is not as much about the Resolution as how people have conducted themselves, the meaness that has gone on, the power struggle, and the political posturing for re-election. I find it contemptible.

    For a moment, set the Immigration Resolution aside and just think about the money situation.

  6. Alanna

    SecondAlamo,
    Created what problem? The budget. They are 1.6% of the total arrested. That’s probably less than what they represent in the general population.

    You’re being silly.

  7. Second-Alamo

    What problems? You know the ‘problems’ created. We’ve been over them a thousand times in various threads. It’s the ‘problems’ that forced the creation of the Resolution as a means to deal with the ‘problems’ since standard rules and laws were insufficient to prevent the ‘problems’.

  8. ShellyB

    Alamo, the Brookings people estimate that about 1/3 of the new immigrants to PWC in the past decade were undocumented. They came here during a period of rapid growth that would not have been possible without them. All of us would have preferred that 100 percent of them had been documented. But that is a federal issue. The only question here is whether or not we want Prince William County taxpayers to be double taxed. We pay the federal government taxes to handle immigration paperwork processing, and they do a crappy job. We pay extra taxes here in Prince William County to send undocumented immigrants on a round about that tour of our federal immigration system, and many of them just come right back here after they are released.

    Then we come to find out that the crime rate among undocumented immigrants is BELOW, yes BELOW that of the average resident of Prince William County, and the result of all these higher taxes for an “immigration crackdown” is a higher crime rate.

    The fact that at this point you are still trying to blame everything on undocumented people is just as laughable as it is sad.

  9. ShellyB

    Alamo, didn’t you know all the “problems” were debunked a long time ago. Corey Stewart took the ball and ran with it, but then he looked down and saw he was holding a ball of bull. All the “problems” that Help Save Manassas came to him with were based on their perception that anyone with darker skin is illegal. Well, 2/3 of the people they encountered were legal, so the over inflated hysteria was 3 times too big. You yourself have said the anger and fear was caused by the demographic changes. Well, demographic changes happen, and there is no just way to legislate against that.

    Remember: the Citizen Satisfaction Survey of 2007, conducted in the spring, had only 3 percent of respondents rating “illegal immigration” as a top issue. That was back in the day when we could worry about our schools, transportation, and public safety. That was before you and your political cronies decided “illegal immigration” would win you a couple of elections.

    I don’t know what it won you. Stewart and Stirrup might well have won in 2007 anyway. And beyond that it won you nothing.

    But the rest of the county is STILL stuck paying the bill for an election campaign took place over a year ago.

    The least you can do is stop pretending your hearsay and prejudiced perception of the Latino community was accurate.

    The more we learn about this, the more discredited your position becomes, but you never budge. You may not be Corey Stewart in disguise, but your are just as stubborn.

  10. Alanna

    Shelly,
    They will never admit it. You are wasting your breath trying. In fact, some of the regulars are continuing to try and pin everything on ‘illegals’. Take a look at the letter to the editor where a woman complains about more service at the Emergency Room. DoTheWrongThing Widawski immediately starts in with it’s the ‘illegals’ fault. It’s pretty disturbing.

    Guess if you’re standing in line behind someone you perceive as a foreigner, then it takes longer to get service.

  11. Second-Alamo

    Perhaps you should speak to the folks in Montgomery county Maryland. It seems that they have discovered several ‘problems’ and are taking action as did we. Slowly but surely these ‘problems’ that you say don’t exist become reality, and the citizens will start to demand something be done. Not unlike what occurred here in PWC. Poverty takes a toll on any community, and when you import poverty, then you import all the ‘problems’ that come with it.

  12. Alanna

    http://www.insidenova.com/isn/news/local/article/md._jail_guard_charged_in_woodbridge_abduction_rape/31072/

    This one’s for you SA. It’s Maryland’s prison guards that are causing our crime stats to increase.

  13. DoTheWrongThing Widawski immediately starts in with it’s the ‘illegals’ fault. It’s pretty disturbing.

    Guess if you’re standing in line behind someone you perceive as a foreigner, then it takes longer to get service.

    The immigrants have the power to warp time and space with their anti-assimilation deodorant specially developed by the Mexican government, didn’t you know that?

    They use this powerful deodorant to slow down the space-time continuum whenever a ‘gringo’ is near. Since it in deodorant form, the subject must be within armpit range.

    Advocator is feverishly working on an antidote. He calls it the ‘Pro-Gringo Anti-Anchor Baby Speedstick’. He actually put too much on when he went to speak at the BOCS. That’s why his voice is so shaky. His voice was being distorted by the fluctuations in the space-time continuum emanating from his armpits.

  14. Second-Alamo

    Hey Mackie, stick to the sarcasm, I’ll handle the humor. Seriously, would many of you want to live in Mexico? I didn’t think so, but can you tell me why you wouldn’t? I hope you aren’t a bunch of closet racists. That would be embarrassing for this blog now wouldn’t it. Name some reasons so that I can understand at what level would our county become unlivable as it approached parity with a Mexican community. Woodbridge was fast approaching that limit I do believe. How about the sudden appearance of men milling about in parking lots? Now that’s something that will surely attract new home buyers to our area!

  15. Mackie :

    DoTheWrongThing Widawski immediately starts in with it’s the ‘illegals’ fault. It’s pretty disturbing.
    Guess if you’re standing in line behind someone you perceive as a foreigner, then it takes longer to get service.

    The immigrants have the power to warp time and space with their anti-assimilation deodorant specially developed by the Mexican government, didn’t you know that?
    They use this powerful deodorant to slow down the space-time continuum whenever a ‘gringo’ is near. Since it in deodorant form, the subject must be within armpit range.
    Advocator is feverishly working on an antidote. He calls it the ‘Pro-Gringo Anti-Anchor Baby Speedstick’. He actually put too much on when he went to speak at the BOCS. That’s why his voice is so shaky. His voice was being distorted by the fluctuations in the space-time continuum emanating from his armpits.

    LOL!!!!

    Mackie….

  16. Moon-howler

    Oh dear God Mackie. (cleaning off the computer screen now) sputter sputter. LOL

    SA, there are nice places to live in Mexico and some un-nice places. There are whole towns of American ex-patriots. AARP did a huge series about 3 years ago about living in Mexico to stretch your retirement dollars.

    SA, My problem with living in Mexico would be not being able to own property near the coast. I am also pretty prissy about drinking water purification and filtration. I don’t think that makes me a racist.

    Here is the article. I finally found it. It depends, of course, on WHERE in Mexico you live. There are places in the USA I wouldn’t even visit. And as the article states, the standard of living for many isnt as high as here.

    http://www.aarpmagazine.org/travel/Articles/a2004-01-21-mag-mexico.html

  17. Moon-howler

    Supervisor John Jenkins will recommend that the County advertise a tax rate of $1.295 which will restore many of the CXO recommended cuts and provide additional funding for our schools and Capital Improvement Program.

    Go John Jenkins!!!! There’s that wiggle room I want for our county.

  18. ShellyB

    Mackie, that was fantastic, and really really funny.

    Hmmmm. I always wondered how people just “know” the immigration status of a person they see at the supermarket or at the bank. They go to Citizens Time to scream about the “illegals” they saw today, but then, how did they know? It was the space/time oder warp!!!! You’ve explained it.

  19. ShellyB

    Alanna, I’m not that worried, really. You don’t have to console me or anything. So what if there are the vestiges of the anti-immigrant hysteria, even though much of it is in our county. It was truly terrifying when it seemed like people were believing all the clap trap about “illegals made me wait longer at the bank today.” Now, it seems like the same handful of people doing all the propaganda work.

    Corey Stewart is on the radio and of course one of the loyal Greg followers calls on the phone to pretend to be an ordinary supporter. It’s an echo chamber. I shoot down people like Alamo just for fun.

  20. Second-Alamo

    MH,

    That is exactly it, people choose to live in different places for different reasons. The problem starts when newcomers move into the area you choose to live in and start to turn it into a place you’d rather not live in. The problem is the place you live in has been your home for years, and so you fight to prevent seeing the area change for the worst. Just as you wouldn’t want to be told to move to an area you don’t like, you don’t want to be told we’re going to take over your surroundings, and there’s nothing you can do about it! Can no one here understand that, or is their standard of living of no importance?

  21. Second-Alamo

    This morning on the CNN site. According to the Pew Center findings: “The U.S. correctional population — those in jail, prison, on probation or on parole — totaled 7.3 million, or 1 in every 31 adults.” Now we want to welcome more people into the country who break our laws to get here, and without having any background checks? Great way to improve the situation I’m sure!

  22. Moon-howler

    SA, first off, you are a rascal! I just found the prison statistic for you in the NYTimes while I was reading. And I raced over there to share. Now I see you have already read it.

    Well, here is my contribution to the discussion:

    One in 11 African-Americans, or 9.2 percent, are under correctional control, compared with one in 27 Latinos (3.7 percent) and one in 45 whites (2.2 percent). Only one out of 89 women is behind bars or monitored, compared with one out of 18 men.

    http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/03/us/03prison.html?_r=1&th&emc=th

    The article also said that $29,000 is spent on incarceration per person compared to $1,250 on probationers and $2,750 on parolees. Spending in prisons and incarceration is only exceeded in growth by medicaid.

    Criminal correction spending is outpacing budget growth in education, transportation and public assistance, based on state and federal data. Only Medicaid spending grew faster than state corrections spending, which quadrupled in the past two decades, according to the report Monday by the Pew Center on the States, the first breakdown of spending in confinement and supervision in the past seven years.

    SA, I also think your major gripe is a socio-economic issue rather than anything else. I think if you considered the problems you have in terms of socio-economics rather than status you might create a more productive conversation here.

    I know that Censored and I could both really do some good bitching about neighborhood issues along those lines. I know I know…I haven’t seen their check books. How do I know they are poor…..

  23. Second-Alamo

    MH,

    I agree about the socio-economic issue. I was just thinking how all this started in Herndon. The people weren’t complaining about the immigration status of those loitering at their 7-11 and walking through their yards, but when they found that they were illegal, then that gave them an easy way of removing them. Just as some of history’s worst organized crime heads were put away for tax evasion, since that was the only way to prosecute them. When more and more of the things that provoke you come from a certain segment of society, then it’s easier to point to them as the cause of your troubles instead of the troubles themselves. Had we had sufficient means of dealing with the problems, then the issue of legal status would have gone unnoticed for the most part. It’s more cost effective to enforce one immigration law than to try and enforce 15 zoning rules. Mainly the citizens wanted to rid their neighborhoods of the problems, and the deportation of individuals was secondary.

  24. Opinion

    Moon-Howler, What we need now is experienced leadership. Our current BOCS Chairman lacks any substantive experience in this or any other political job (and I’m not a fan of on the job training for such a position.) I know we have to wait three years for the next election; however, I think we should DRAFT John Jenkins ad Chairman next time around. I also strongly recommend that concerned citizens advise the BOCS to listen to his wise council during this budget crisis as he’s the only one (IMHO) with the experience and temperament to properly weather this storm while protecting County residents. Supervisor Jenkins (I believe) has no political aspirations beyond his current position. Those on the BOCS who wish to use PWC to prove some political point are the ones who worry me.

    I think we are about to go through another round of political theater today. We all remember the results of the last “show”.

  25. Moon-howler

    @Opinion
    I could not agree with you more! He knows the budget process as it relates to PWC like the back of his hand. I trust his judgement and his expertise.

  26. Opinion

    Since we are talking about Mexico and prison populations, here’s a suggestion. If we legalized and heavily taxed most recreational drugs, we would eliminate the drug cartels and violence in Mexico and the United States, raise considerable revenue at the State and Federal level to help with the deficit, significantly reduce our prison population (and the associated costs), and create thousands of new jobs on both sides of the border (thus reducing the need for Mexican Citizens to risk their lives for a job in the United States). We would also choke off Al-Quada’s main source of revenue (the sale of illegal drugs grown in Afghanistan) thus reducing terrorist activity and making the United States more secure while simultaneously reducing the Taliban’s financial base and strength and power thus stabilizing the Afghan Government. We would also eliminate the United State’s multi-Billion dollar drug interdiction program thus reducing the deficit. We would also get out of the business of selectively policing citizen’s personal lives (just why are alcohol and tobacco legal while Marihuana is not?) Current laws concern abusing mind altering substances would work just fine (although I’m for tougher enforcement – don’t drive while high or you will do time). Research tells us that abuse is really a symptom of larger problems which should be treated medically instead of prosecuted criminally.

    So, what’s the argument for making most recreational drugs illegal again? Anyone interested in more information might check out http://www.drugpolicy.org/homepage.cfm (and send them a modest donation).

  27. Opinion :
    I think we should DRAFT John Jenkins ad Chairman next time around.
    .

    LOL!

    You people are a riot today.

    But Opinion, I agree with you.

  28. Censored bybvbl

    Second-Alamo :MH,
    I agree about the socio-economic issue. I was just thinking how all this started in Herndon. The people weren’t complaining about the immigration status of those loitering at their 7-11 and walking through their yards, but when they found that they were illegal, then that gave them an easy way of removing them. Just as some of history’s worst organized crime heads were put away for tax evasion, since that was the only way to prosecute them. When more and more of the things that provoke you come from a certain segment of society, then it’s easier to point to them as the cause of your troubles instead of the troubles themselves. Had we had sufficient means of dealing with the problems, then the issue of legal status would have gone unnoticed for the most part. It’s more cost effective to enforce one immigration law than to try and enforce 15 zoning rules. Mainly the citizens wanted to rid their neighborhoods of the problems, and the deportation of individuals was secondary.

    SA, we’ve gone through this argument before, but enforcing immigration law would do nothing to improve my neighborhood. However, more money for Neighborhood Services would. My neighborhood is unusual in that it’s a real mix of people with educations, salaries, life styles that span the spectrum. It’s a mini-town with all the characters one could expect. It’s definitely not white bread although it’s generally white.

    I’m a believer in accepting social responsibility and paying taxes to support neccessary services. This mantra of “no new taxes” or “lowest possible tax” gets you just what you pay for – crappy services, a lot of debt, or third world status in our metropolitan region.

  29. Alanna

    Mackie,
    I haven’t laughed so hard at something I’ve read on the computer. That was good.

  30. Moon-howler

    Mackie really outdid himself, didn’t he.
    Homerun Mackie.

  31. silver fox

    Several have spoken at Citizens’ Time, and not a soul has supported the Chairman’s rate.

  32. Alanna

    SilverFox,

    That’s downright funny. Maybe everyone’s immune to Corey. He’s the boy who cried wolf, one too many times.

  33. silver fox

    Alanna,
    It’s right up there with Mackie’s earlier humor.

    I will be fair an give the Chairman credit for asking Dana Fenton to pass thanks along to the VA GA, and specifically Senator Colgan. I’m sure there will be some that won’t be too pleased with that.

  34. Moon-howler

    @silver fox
    That was decent of the Chairman to specifically give Senator Colgan credit where credit is due for legislative gains. I am sure all the black velvets are wretching and gagging over the positive recognition since many of them like to paint Senator Colgan as their own personal anti-christ.

    Good job Corey for rising above it. (I will praise Corey when I think he has done the right thing.)

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